We’re now a few weeks into the New Year 2007. I hope you are making progress with your New Year’s Resolutions. I’m a bit off schedule on one of mine because a project is moving a bit slower than I expected.

So I’ve revised my plan, and I’ll be back on track next week!

The early days of a new year are a good time to think about volunteering, whether you are already retired or you are planning for retirement. I think volunteering in the community in some capacity is a very important part of life.

If you know my life story, you know that I have endured my share of hard times and struggled to achieve my goals. I know I would not have made it without the support and help of others along the way. Now, I am not only grateful to those who helped me, I am determined to pass on the gift to others.

Volunteering is an incredibly fulfilling activity. It gives new meaning to our lives. Perhaps this is one of the reasons so many retirees find such great joy in volunteering. When we leave a career, we need some new enterprise to give us a new sense of meaning in life. Finding a new sense of meaning and purpose, in fact, is one of the major factors in aging successfully.

Volunteering in the community gives us many new opportunities, including the opportunity to:

Learning a foreign language is a popular self-learning education today. The reason behind this rising trend though doesn’t pertain to a specific basis since each person interested to learn other country’s language has a correct perspective in his own way. No one person here has the exact and correct answer in supporting an interest to why learning other languages is such a phenomenal hit nowadays.

Language learning has been proven to improve a person’s memory registry with each detail of information the mind encounters. It’s also proven to increase a person’s ability to solve math and analytical equations. Other benefits for learning a foreign language reflects on the brain’s response to how a person is able to creatively and critically think. Creativity is one big contributor to how one individual can memorize easily and by considering this factor alone; we can now clearly see that memorization and learning a different language other than our vernacular has positive effects on our memory.

Some people may have just been influenced by peers or their environment to learn a foreign language. It can be a factor of having a new member of the family from a foreign land who speaks a completely different language. How do you welcome a foreign person with a different native tongue? Of course, you should adjust to his capacity of understanding and talk to him in a way that he can understand. And how do you that? You need to learn his language.

Business can very well thrive among bilingual people. Communication gap is bridged and transactions are settled better if two parties understand each other. Not only that, the usual cultural gap we have towards another immigrant or foreigner is replaced with positive understanding of another culture.

Did you know that bilingual individuals tend to perform better compared to monolinguals? Overall, learning another language of another country helps a person perform better in assessment tests, communication skills in both English and chosen foreign language, analytical skills and creativity which exhibits mind exercise and shows better memorization abilities.

How do you find the balance between your own independent life and being in a relationship? For some women this is about facing your worst fear that you will somehow lose yourself along the way. You can find out how to make sure that you don’t give up on yourself whilst being in a relationship. Five surefire ways of keeping you independent and happy whilst dating and finding a relationship that is the right balance for you.

Women wanting a relationship

At least 50% of the women over 40 whom I coach say at some point, rather defensively, “I want to do this coaching work with you but I don’t really know whether I want to be in a relationship”. They are defensive because they think that everyone is expected to want to be with a partner. That is how the world appears, especially when we are single. Interestingly this is not the whole of the story. When I dig a little deeper what usually comes up is that for many women their worst fear is that they don’t want to lose their independence. You have all worked hard to gain your independent place, especially those in their 40s, 50s & 60s. This of course is not only in relationships but also in the world of work. For many women when they have got used to being single they are, on many levels, very happy with their lives. “I like being able to do what I want to do, when I want to do it, without having to ask anyone else’s permission.” said Emily a divorced women in her 50s. “I spent so many years being at the beck and call not only of my husband but also my children, they are grown up and it is now time for me”. We can all sympathise with her.

Women want independence & relationships

In fact, many women come to me to find out is whether they can find the kind of relationship that they want whilst still retaining their independence. Like everything in life it is about balance. Relationship coaching does not mean that we don’t look at the whole picture of your life. No relationship will work if you are not in balance with yourself. Now you may have got very used to ‘doing your own thing’ but there remains a niggling doubt. That little voice is saying “Why can’t I have all this and have a relationship too”. Well the answer is that it is possible and I help women achieve that. It is especially important that you first become clear about what you want to retain about your independence and what you are looking for in a relationship.

What must be in place for a relationship to work?

What you must become clear about is what elements of your independent life you want to retain. Think about what are the ‘must haves’. These may be things like time, certain kinds of space and a certain amount of time to spend with friends and family. You get the idea. Once you are completely clear what these are you start to have a blueprint for the life you want to have with someone else. Equally make a list of what it is that you want from the relationship. Remember these days there are all kinds of relationship arrangements – they are not all live-in married partnerships.

How to keep your relationship boundaries intact

What is most important is that you are conscious about your boundaries in a relationship. Getting the balance right can be difficult, but if you have articulated for yourself your own ‘must haves’ you will be in a much stronger place. This might sound very contrived but think about it. When you go out to buy some new piece of kitchen equipment you will have spent some time thinking about what functions you want it to have. There are100s of different kinds of washing machine out there but if you have your ‘must haves’ clearly listed then it is going to make the process much easier. I know this sounds like finding a relationship is like going shopping. Well it is in a way, and don’t we all love shopping? Remember this is about you being The Chooser, that is one of the ways that you retain your independence and don’t get swept away in the moment.

1. Make your ‘must haves’ list for your independent life

2. Make a list of your requirements in a partner

3. Remain The Chooser when dating and finding a relationship

4. Stick to your lists – share them with a friend and get them to remind you if you start to slip

5. Learn to say ‘no’ early in the relationship if things don’t fit – they won’t change just because you hope they will!

Choosing a healthy lifestyle can benefit you in several ways. It gives you a boost of energy and makes your body feel more in tune. It is important to identify ways you can improve your health.

Following are ten things that you can do to promote optimal nutrition:

1. Watch what you eat. Your meals should consist of a healthy daily balance of foods. Knowing your nutritional needs and not eating too much or too little can lead to a more balanced lifestyle. There are several resources to consult in order to determine your body’s needs.

2. Sleep. When you are sleep-deprived, your body begins to shut down. Make sure that you feel rested from getting an adequate amount of sleep. This will allow your body to function at a consistent and optimal speed every day.

3. Take vitamins and supplements. Paying attention to where your diet feels lacking. Once you have determined this, you can compensate with vitamins and supplements.

4. Exercise. You should exercise at least four or five times per week. Exercise helps your body to build muscle, lose weight and can help prevent illness and disease.

5. Fight addictions. Avoid over or under eating. This can easily disrupt your nutritional balance and cause serious problems.

6. Keep learning. There are several different definitions of improving health. Improving heath not only means diets, but there are holistic approaches that can be a part of your lifestyle. Keep researching and studying to determine what is and is not effective to help you in improving and maintaining your health.

7. Stay motivated. It is easy to begin working on improving our health and it is also easy to discontinue once we don’t see immediate results. A major aspect of improving your health is remaining consistent and motivated in your activities. It is important to make health care an every day priority.

8. Get the right body measurements. Getting your body mass index taken, as well as finding where you need to focus your efforts in order to improve health can help you in staying motivated in improving your health.

9. Build a network. A network includes not only those that can provide information for you, but also support and assist you in building and maintaining health.

10. Consult. There are a variety of health care providers and nutritionists that can help you. If you are uncertain about necessary steps to take, get in touch with the right person to determine what you need to do.

You can help yourself to live a more fulfilled life by consistently working towards improving your health. By knowing what you need to do and by following those steps, you can be assured that you will attain better nutrition and energy.

Stress, burnout and physical exhaustion have become a way of life for many people. You need to feel that you can get a handle on what stresses you, and diffuse this stress in different ways so as to maintain both your physical and emotional health.

The ways we and others cause stress can come from habits or our own thoughts and feelings about how things are going. Or perhaps your own actions can be adjusted to cause less stress.

If you want to be calm and relaxed, with less stress then be sure to read these different stress management techniques for some ideas to help.

1. Be organized. You can plan all you want, but if you cannot find the project, list or information you were to work with, it is pretty stressful.

2. Make a list of what you want to accomplish, and then decide which are the most important things to do on that list. Do that first and then go to your less important items.

3. Allow for interruptions and changes. If you schedule yourself so tight that you can’t be interrupted for the 15 minutes you spent talking to an unexpected caller, you may find yourself highly stressed. Chill out and realize that there will be some interruptions and you can handle that.

4. Have realistic expectations of yourself and others. No one is superman. You cannot get three days work done in one day. Don’t wait till the last minute and put so much stress on yourself with huge amounts of work.

5. Take some time for a break a couple times a day. It is like changing gears and allows your mind to rest for a few minutes while you do something you enjoy, not something you have to do.

6. Find some time each day to exercise or take a walk. This helps to burn off more stress.

7. Once you are done for the day, take some time to relax. Find hobbies that you enjoy and that reduce your stress.

Stress is a part of life, but you also need ways to de stress and not let it get the best of you. These different stress management techniques and tips should help you find ways to manage your stress.